Article - Air to air with 10 Squadron – October 2018

Air to air with 10 Squadron

On 10th October 2018 I was privileged, as part of a small group affiliated to 10 Squadron to go to Brize Norton for a briefing on the work that they do. Soon after arriving, we learned that we would have the opportunity to see some of their work at first hand; we’d go flying. The first stop was the departure area which features check-in desks, coffee machines, rows of seats and scanners etc. It could be any UK regional airport were it not for the flight status boards listing places such as Kabul, the Ascension Islands, Akrotiri, Oman and Mount Pleasant as destinations. Also, and something I have not seen at civil airports, was the bright red-coloured amnesty bin for “ammunition, pyrotechnics and explosives only”.

10 Squadron had a refuelling mission that day and our briefing continued on board. Take off was listed at 1010, our aircraft was one of eight military registered Airbus A330-MRTT (multi-role tanker transport) “Voyager” aircraft provided by the AirTanker Consortium under a PFI contract. The aircraft are split between 10 Squadron and its sister Squadron 101. The Voyager is a very versatile piece of kit, able to carry 291 passengers over 8,000 kms or 109 MTS of fuel which, on the Mark 2, can be shared with fast jets via two wing-mounted drum and hose pods and also on the Mark 3, to slower transports via the belly mounted system. Voyagers can also be used for medical evacuation and by the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and other senior government officials.

Inside, our Voyager, was just like any civilian airline’s wide-bodied aircraft; standard rows of economy style seats and after we were seated we received a safety briefing similar to that which would apply to any air passenger. Once airborne we were given a more detailed briefing on the day’s sortie; not a flight plan you would expect to hear on a flight to Spain or the USA! Our crew were brimming with enthusiasm for the aircraft and the role they play and happy to answer questions. One of our crew had been with 10 Squadron’s predecessor 216 Squadron which used Tristars for tanking. In his experience, the Voyager has proven a large step up in performance and reliability over its predecessors.

That day’s mission was to refuel a flight of four Tornado’s from Tactical Wing 51 of the German Air Force off the west coast of Scotland, close to where they were conducting exercises. The refuelling had been requested by our NATO ally and the flight was fully recorded so that the fuel supplied could be charged back to the German MOD. Our route out provided good views of Liverpool, Douglas and Galloway until we reached a location between the islands of Barra, Tiree and Skye. For the next three and a half hours we flew a race-track type pattern over the sea at twenty thousand feet and witnessed the refuelling of all four aircraft in a sequence of seven refuellings. This entailed a pair of aircraft coming up to the port side of the Voyager. Once seen by the flight deck crew, the first manoeuvred close behind the port wing before engaging its receiving probe into the basket on the end of the hose which, by then, was trailing several metres from the wing pod. Once refuelled, the Tornado reformed on the starboard side while the second aircraft went through the process. The whole process is captured on video in the cockpit for post-sortie debriefings. We were able to watch all this on the flight-deck video screens and also at a distance of some ten to fifteen metres at the back of the plane from which the skills demanded of our crew and of the Tornado pilots were clearly evident, especially as the aircraft, still refuelling, turned as one to continue the race-track pattern.

With the Tornado’s refuelled and away, our crew offered some fuel to an RAF C-130 on exercise in the area, but he was OK. We saw him in the distance. That air-to-air would have been a bonus. One for another time!

And so, all too soon it seemed we were heading back to base and less than forty-five minutes after leaving the designated refuelling area we were back on the ground. Thanks were given to all of the crew who we’ll remember for their enthusiasm, their pride in what they do and for their hospitality; all in all a great advertisement for the RAF.

My thanks to RAF 10 Squadron, together with the group I joined which has a special affiliation to them, for making this possible.

Author & Photography Peter Nelson